School 2009-2010

I'm finally getting around to posting about the first weeks of school. Never mind that the girls started the last week of August and Cannon began in early September!

Once again, we are blessed with another year of excellent teachers. They are definitely a big part of why the kids love school and are doing so well.

Mrs. A., Elle's teacher, is just the way I was as a teacher--very strict, has high expectations, but very loving. She is the perfect match for Elle. Even though Elle is so academic and was an early reader, she is being challenged and is responding well to the responsibilities of a first grader. She has weekly homework that includes math facts, studying her spelling words, reading, reciting Bible verses and their meaning, as well as reciting the month's character trait and its meaning.

Piper is just about a whole year younger going into Kindergarten than Elle was. Because of that and the fact that Piper is more of a hands on learner and likes to sample different activities, I was a bit concerned about how she would transition from PK, where all her learning was exploratory, to a more structured environment in Kinder. Let me just tell you that Piper has blown me away with her maturity and growth in the weeks leading up to school. I also have to give credit to God for placing her with Mrs. G. She plays a key role in Piper's success already.

I have to share a funny email I received two days after school started. It's from a parent of a student in Elle's Kinder class last year whose son is repeating Kinder and happens to be in Piper's class this year. (Does that make sense?) This is part of what she says:

"Nick had a little crush on Elle (who wouldn't)...now it's Piper this and Piper that...with the biggest smile when he says her name. Those Dase girls can really make the little guys smile..."



Cannon started school at our beloved preschool. With the economy and such, our enrollment numbers are down for his age so he has ended up with a mixed age class--young twos to threes. He cried initially when I dropped him off the first couple of weeks, but was quick to shake it off. He has stopped crying at drop off, but if he sees any mommies picking up early, he starts crying. Even with that though, he loves school! He talks about Ms. J often and mentions her in prayers daily--so cute. His prayers go something like this: Ms. J, school, more rain..."mamen."

We're off to a great start! Now on to field trips to the pumpkin patch, fire truck visits, fall festivals, and Halloween. I hope we get some cooler weather to go along with all those fun activities.